Insomnia
by slyfox300
Summary: Miley has trouble sleeping while on tour. Can Lilly help, or is she the cause?
1. Chapter 1

Hannah Montana is owned fully by Disney, inc.

Insomnia

Prologue

Miley groaned as she face planted herself onto the bed in her hotel room, feeling more tired then she had ever felt in her entire life. _'This has got to stop...I have got to get some sleep.' _She thought, as she glanced over at the alarm clock sitting on the table beside the bed.

Easily making out the blue digital numbers, she groaned again when she realized just how late it was. _'Just let me get a full night's rest...that's all I ask. Just eight hours of blessed sleep.' _Without bothering to get undressed, or even get under the covers, Miley kicked the shoes off of her feet, then curled up into a ball, her eyes drifting shut, hoping that tonight would be the night that her newly developed pattern would change and she'd finally get some sleep.

_Miley knew this was more memory than dream as she replayed the last moments she had spent with Lilly almost a month ago in her mind's eye. They were standing outside the beach house, watching her dad loading the rest of his and Miley's stuff into the van that would be taking them to where the buses were to meet up with the rest of Hannah Montana's crew, and Miley was trying to convince Lilly to come along with her one last time. _

_"You sure you can't come with me?" She asked, wincing internally as she noticed a hint of pleading desperation in her own voice. But she could hardly blame herself. The prospect of spending the next three months away from her best friend while she was on tour seemed like self-inflicted torture. Sometimes she really, really hated Hannah Montana, and now was one of those times. Even though she was Hannah Montana, she often treated her like she was a totally different person, just so she didn't have to hate herself, although she was really starting to wonder about her own sanity. Hello, Schizophrenic much?_

_"I really wish I could." Lilly replied, her blue eyes gazing wistfully into Miley's. "You know how much Lola loves being at Hannah's concerts."_

_'Oh no, insanity is catching...Now I've got Lilly talking about herself in the third person.' Miley had a chance to think to herself before Lilly had continued speaking._

_"But I've got that skateboarding competition next month, and this time I really think I've got a chance at winning it." Miley loved how she looked so confident in that moment. "And if I do, then..." Lilly trailed off as if speaking about it would jinx it somehow._

_"Nationals, I know. You're gonna rock, Lil. I just wish I could be there in person to see it." Now it was her chance to feel wistful. _

_"Me too. But you are going to watch on tv right? You promised."_

_"I know...and I will...even if I have to lock myself in my room to see it...I'll be watching." Miley promised, knowing that with Hannah's hectic schedule locking herself into her room probably would be the only way she would be able to see it._

_"Hey, sorry to interupt girls." Robbie Ray said, walking over to where they were. "Miles, time to go." He said, pointing to his watch to indicate that it was getting late._

_Miley felt a pang in her chest as she looked at her dad's serious face, then looked back at Lilly, seeing a sadness in her eyes that mirrored her own. Suddenly, they were hugging each other fiercely. "I'm gonna miss you so much." _

_"Me too...call me?" Lilly asked, her voice sounding shaky._

_"Every day." Miley promised, as she reluctantly disengaged from the hug._

_"Twice a day." Lilly demanded as they started walking towards the van._

_"Morning, noon and night." Miley uttered solemnly, as if she were taking an oath._

_"Now you're pushing it, Stewart." Lilly said, poking a finger into Miley's chest. "You gotta leave me some time for practice." Lilly had tried to keep her face serious as she said that, but the impish grin just couldn't remain hidden as she joked with her best friend. _

_"Gotcha." Miley gave her a mock salute, before climbing into the van's passenger seat. Lilly closed the door as Robbie Ray started the engine, but Miley couldn't take her eyes off of Lilly's face. As her dad moved to back out of the driveway, Miley waved goodbye to her best friend. _

Miley felt herself slowing raising to consciousness and she struggled against it for all she was worth. She didn't want to wake up, she wanted to stay in the dream, but she knew fighting it was useless as her senses started to take in the darkened hotel room. The only source of light coming from the clock beside the bed, she risked a glance, knowing by the fact that it was still dark in the room that she wouldn't like what she found, she looked anyway. "Oh come on." She groaned, her head coming back down to rest on her pillow. _'Four hours! Four stinky, stupid hours!' _


	2. What's to do when you can't sleep?

Hannah Montana is still owned by Disney, co. I still own nothing. Want to thank all the people who are reading and enjoying this, it's my first ever Hannah Montana fic, so I'm glad you're all enjoying it. Thanks to those who left me nice replies. I know it's been a while since I updated the story, but it's a nice long one for those who are interested.

Lyrics to Miley's song "Right here" were used at the end.

Chapter One: What's to do when you can't sleep?

'It's a universal truth,' Miley thought to herself as she huddled under the blankets, flicking idly through television channels. 'That no matter where I am, there's still absolutely nothin' on at three in the morning.' She shook her head, eyes rolling wryly, as she skipped past all of the news programs and infomercials that couldn't hope to capture her attention. 'It's like they figure nobody sane would be awake at this ungodly hour so they don't bother to program anythin' good.' Finally coming across an old sit-com that looked reasonably funny, she stopped her random channel surfing, putting the remote down on the table beside her bed.

She yawned then leaned back against the pillows, trying to get more comfortable as she prepared to endure the long night that was ahead of her. It was useless, she knew, to try to go back to sleep. Never once, in the almost month that she had been going through this, had she been able to go back to sleep once she had woken up. Even though her body remained tired, her mind just refused to shut off. It was less aggravating, she had discovered after several times of tossing and turning fruitlessly in the dark, to just accept defeat immediately. Of course that also left her with several hours to kill while she waited for the rest of the world to wake up.

Halfway through the sit-com, she felt a not so gentle rumbling coming from her tummy which reminded her that she hadn't bothered to eat anything after her concert. She had been so tired that all she'd really wanted was sleep, but now her stomach was actively protesting that decision. Looking over at the desk by the hotel door, she saw the room service menu sitting on top of it, and hopped up to get it. She had to stop suddenly as the room appeared to swing precariously around her. Waiting until the dizziness subsided, she took a long breath in, blew it out to steady herself, then purposefully made her way over to the desk, grabbed the menu off of it, then went back to the safety of her bed.

'Sweet Niblets, I am hungry. So hungry that I almost passed out.' She thought to herself, ignoring the other possible reason for her dizzy spell. Her mouth watered as she looked over the breakfast menu, and it didn't take her long to decide what she wanted. Picking up the phone on the table, she dialed the number for the front desk.

"Front desk, this is Nancy. How can I help you tonight, Ms Montana?" A pleasantly, professional voice asked before she had a chance to say anything. 'Funny that they know who's calling without having to be told.' Miley thought to herself, distracted briefly from her stomach by the curiousness of it. Then decided that it must pop up on the hotel's computer somehow who's calling.

"Um...I was wondering if I could get room service...feeling kinda hungry." She said haltingly, wondering belatedly if the hotel even served room service at this hour. It was way early to be ordering breakfast after all. Then again, she was Hannah Montana and her celebrity status had to be good for something, even if it was only ordering breakfast at three fifteen in the morning.

"Of course, Ms Montana. What would you like?" Miley blinked in shock for a second at the quick reply.

'Daddy picked a great hotel!' She thought to herself, a grin lighting up her face as she looked back down at the breakfast menu. "I'd like a steak and cheese omelet, and a glass of orange juice."

"Not a problem, Ms Montana. We'll have that sent up to you in about twenty minutes. And if you need anything else, don't hesitate to call."

"Great! Thank you!" She said, happily, then wondered if her stomach was going to be able to wait the twenty minutes, as it grumbled again. 'Oh shush! You're getting fed arent'cha? Man, you're demanding!' She thought as she patted her stomach, uneasily.

As Miley was hanging up the hotel phone, she happened to glance down and spot her cell phone sitting on the table beside the remote control for the TV and remembered what else she had forgotten to do before she fell asleep that night. Letting out a small groan, Miley simultaneously picked up her cell phone and slapped her forehead in aggravation. 'Lilly's competition is tomorrow!' She'd meant to call Lilly before she fell asleep, but had forgotten the second she had walked into her hotel room and had seen her bed waiting for her. The lure of sleep getting the better of her.

Over the last month, she'd kept her promise of calling Lilly every day, the sound of her best friend's voice being the only thing that really helped to keep the loneliness at bay while she was on tour. Although remembering to keep the time difference in mind was sometimes tough. She'd forgotten one time, and got an earful when she'd accidentally woken her up at five in the morning, protesting that it was eight o'clock where she was. Needless to say, Lilly had not been happy with her that day.

It was too late to call her now though, even with the three hour time difference between Philadelphia and Malibu, it would still be after Midnight there and Lilly was bound to be sleeping already. Sighing, Miley sank back against her pillows, cell phone still clutched in one hand.

Looking through the photos on her phone, she found one of Lilly that brought a smile to her face. Lilly was standing on the beach, the beam of the sun turning her blond hair to gold, one sun-kissed tan arm circling her surf board, the other raised in a greeting wave as she beamed happily back at the person taking the picture. Miley had taken that picture herself, of course, and she still remembered that day and how much fun they had as Lilly had finally succeeded in teaching Miley how to surf. It hadn't been easy. Miley had been grumbling all the way, especially after one particularly bad wipeout that had left her gasping for air as salt water had filled her lungs. She hadn't wanted to try again, but Lilly had been right there to help her back onto her surfboard, pat her back to get the water out of her lungs, and convince her to give it another shot. And with the exhilaration of finally succeeding, Miley was glad Lilly had been so persistent.

Then again, Lilly was always doing things like that. She was always right there, by her side, whenever she needed her. That's what made Lilly such a great best friend. And what made the forced separation of the two friends so hard. They were each forced, by circumstances, to be apart from each other when they needed to be around each other the most. 'I should be at that skateboarding competition tomorrow, but I can't be because 'Hannah' has other priorities.' Miley thought to herself, guilt rushing through her. The world at large would probably never know it, but sometimes it really sucked to be Hannah Montana.

It was way too late to call her, Miley knew that, but it didn't lesson the urge that she had to call her anyway, the burning desperate need that she had to hear her best friend's voice, if only for a few minutes.

Fingers twitching against hard plastic, Miley almost hit the send button. Then she thought of what Lilly would say if she actually woke her up this late, the night before her competition, and she froze. 'I can't. Lilly would kill me.' Swallowing hard, she put the cell phone down on the bed, and pushed it so it was out of easy reach. Head resting back against her pillow, Miley sighed again, dejectedly.

From out of nowhere the thought trickled across her mind. 'I could always send her a text message.' Her lips twitching into a grin, Miley shot up into a cross-legged sitting position, grabbed her cell phone, then opened up the text messaging screen. Biting her lip as she considered what she should say, she stared at the white, wordless screen for a long moment, then grinned as the words came to her.

Typing in the quick message, she hit the send button, then collapsed back onto the bed, satisfied with what she had done.

-HM-

On a normal night, Miley would have been right. Lilly would have been fast asleep by this time any other night. But tonight she had been jacked up with nerves about the competition and had spent long hours at the skate park practicing. Not leaving until well after nine, she had stopped by Rico's for a late snack. Still feeling hyped up and restless she had decided to take a walk on the beach. With the moon glowing brightly off of the water and the soothing sound of the waves crashing against the sand, Lilly found it very relaxing so took her time walking the short distance between Rico's snack shack and the Stewart's beach house. It was after eleven when she used the key Miley had given her to let herself into the beach house, glad that she'd left a light on so she wouldn't be walking into complete darkness.

She'd offered to house sit for the Stewart's while Miley was on tour, and Robbie Ray had reluctantly agreed to let the sixteen year-old girl do so, after she had secured her mother's permission. That hadn't been too hard, all she'd had to do was agree to call her every day so that her mother would know she was still alive. That settled, Robbie Ray had opened up his wallet and handed her five one hundred dollar bills. So startled that she had almost dropped them, she had tried to speak, wondering why he was giving her the money, but all she could do was open and close her mouth soundlessly, feeling faintly stupid as she was sure that she had resembled a gold fish.

With a wink and a grin, Mr Stewart had informed her that it was grocery money and that she wasn't to use it all at one time. Nodding sheepishly, Lilly had tucked the money into her purse, promising that she'd be careful with it. Almost a month later, she still hadn't really touched it, Mr. Stewart had left the house so properly stocked that she hadn't found much need for it, except for the occasional milk run.

Lilly was glad he had taken her up on her offer as she settled into the familiar surroundings. Everything about the house was so comforting, though at first she hadn't been able to put her finger on the reason why. Then, one day she had been sitting at the piano just playing around with the keys, she had no idea how to actually play the thing, but it was fun to fool around with it. While she was doing that, she had looked up around the room and it had suddenly occurred to her why she felt so comfortable here. Everything about the place, from the guitars resting in their stands beside the piano, to the comfortable green couch, where she and Miley often sat or lay and watched movies together, and even the extremely weird table thingy with legs in the kitchen, everything around her reminded her of Miley. It was the only thing, she realized, that helped to keep the loneliness she was feeling for her best friend at bay.

Of course, it also helped that she was sleeping in Miley's room, in Miley's bed and she had all of Miley's stuff all around her. She would never admit this to anyone, just thinking about telling someone that she did this brought a rushing heat of embarrassment to her face, but sometimes when missing Miley became unbearable for her, she'd take Beary bear off of the shelf Miley had him on, crawl under the comforter on Miley's bed and cuddle up with him. Hugging the bear to her chest, she'd bury her nose into his soft fur, where she could swear she could smell the faint aroma of Miley's perfume still lingering. Sometimes that was the only thing that allowed her to fall asleep at night.

Lilly didn't think she'd need the comfort of Beary bear tonight however, she was tired from her exertions at the skate park, and the walk on the beach had relaxed her so much that she didn't think sleep was going to be a problem. She didn't really want to even bother with a shower, but she was sticky with dried sweat and she didn't want to get into Miley's bed like that. Even if she wasn't here to see, or smell her like that, and even though she washed the sheets every week without fail, she'd still feel guilty doing that. So, she headed into Miley's bathroom instead.

Half an hour later, freshly scrubbed and smelling faintly of Miley's shampoo and body wash (She'd brought her own with her, of course, but for some reason liked using Miley's better), Lilly remerged from the bathroom feeling refreshed. Placing her dirty clothes into the laundry basket, she pulled a pair of Miley's pajamas out from Miley's bureau and put them on, relishing in the feel of the soft, fuzzy fabric.

She'd just finished blow-drying her hair and was about to crawl under the covers when she heard her cell phone beep with an incoming text message. Frowning at it in confusion, she wondered who would be texting her this late at night. Oliver wouldn't dare, he valued his life too much, and Miley usually called her earlier in the evening, though she wasn't expecting a call from her tonight because Miley was usually too busy on concert nights to call her.

Climbing onto the bed, Lilly picked up her cell phone from the table and scrolled to the text messaging screen. She was surprised and delighted to see the text message Miley had sent.

Hey there, Lilster!

Sorry I didn't call earlier...you know how it is with the whole 'concert' thing.

But I wanted to wish you 'Good Luck' at the competition tomorrow!

Don't stay up all night worrying, I know you're going to do great!

I'll be watching!

Love ya, M.

A feeling of warm affection swept through her at the thought of Miley thinking about her. Wanting to talk to her best friend, Lilly almost automatically dialed her cell phone number, then the time staring up at her from her cell phone registered in her brain, and it caused her to pause for a moment. If it was twelve thirty here in Malibu, it had to be three thirty in the morning in Philadelphia. 'What is Miley doing up so late?' Lilly wondered. 'Well...only one way to find out.' She thought to herself, as she pushed the send button then listened to the phone ring.

-HM-

Miley was just getting back into the sit-com when she heard a knocking at her door. "Who is it?" she called out, though she was pretty sure she already knew who it was, being a celebrity it paid to be cautious.

"Room Service, Miss Montana."

"Uhhh..." As if just now remembering that the hotel staff were expecting to see Hannah Montana open the door, Miley's eyes shot around the hotel room, looking for her alter ego's blond wig. "Just a minute." She said, stalling for time, as her eyes rapidly continued her search, finally spotting it laying on the desk where she had tossed it earlier after getting back from the concert. Hopping off of the bed, Miley ignored the twinge of dizziness as she hustled over to grab her wig. Used to getting changed in a hurry, it didn't take her long to get her brown hair twisted into a knot and covered under the blonde wig, before she opened the door.

"Hi!" Hannah said, covering her breathlessness by smiling widely at the star-struck young man standing in the hall way. He was standing behind a cloth-covered table, which held a display of white covered plates with silver lids, a fragile looking tea cup with a silver teapot sitting beside it, a dish with an assortment of teas and flavored cocoas resting beside that, her requested glass of orange juice, and in the center of the table rested a cute, small vase filled with purple, fragrant flowers. "Wow! You guys work fast! I only ordered this a few minutes ago!"

"Slow night in the kitchen, Miss Montana." The young man said, with a self deprecating shrug, not mentioning the fervor that had swept through the kitchen when the staff had learned who the table was for, or the head chef's insistence that everything look 'just right' for Miss Montana.

Smiling, Hannah stepped aside so the man could push the table into her room. "Everything look's and smells great!" she enthused, walking over to the desk to get her purse so that she could give him a tip. Pulling out a twenty dollar bill, she went to hand it to him, but he shook his head emphatically.

"Please, Miss Montana...I don't want any money...really...it was my pleasure to bring this up to you." In truth, he had to fight several other people for the privilege.

"Are you sure?" Hannah asked, her eyebrows crinkling in confusion. The young man nodded his head affirmatively but Hannah just didn't feel right not giving him anything.

"Well...there is something...but I'm really not supposed to ask." He replied.

"What is it?" Hannah asked, with an encouraging smile, seeing how nervous the man was.

"C-could I get your autograph?" Hannah's eyebrows shot up, not expecting this question. He didn't look like one of her average fans. "It's not for me!" He hastened to add, his face turning red. "It's for my sister!"

Hannah couldn't help the grin that rushed to her face. The young man's embarrassment was sort of priceless, but instead of teasing him about it, she merely asked, "What's her name?"

"Toni." The young man sighed out the name, as if relieved he'd managed to get that out. Noticing the man's name tag for the first time, Hannah was amused to see that the young man's name was also Tony. As if sensing her amused stare, Tony blurted out. "Toni with an I. It's short for Antonia." Tony explained.

"Your parents named you both Tony? Doesn't that get confusing?" Hannah asked, trying to keep her amusement from showing on her face, she didn't want to embarrass Tony any further.

"Not really. We don't really call her that." Tony explained.

"Oh. What do you call her?" Hannah asked curiously, as she got out an extra cd of her music that she'd just so happened to have on hand. Opening up the jewel case, she took out the insert, opened it up to the last page and prepared to write out an autograph for his sister with a black felt tip marker.

"Sparkles." Hannah's head shot up at that answer, pinning the man with her ice-blue eyes accusingly, starting to feel as if he was playing a joke on her.

"She's three." Tony hastened to add, apparently feeling the cold from her look.

It was all Miley could do not to burst out laughing at that. Biting on her inner cheek to keep the impulse at bay, Hannah smiled professionally and proceeded to write out her autograph, making it out to Sparkles and signing her name with a flourish. "There you go." Hannah said, handing the cd over to Tony who took it gratefully.

"Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this is going to mean to her!" Tony said enthusiastically, as he started to back towards the door, cd in hand.

"Anything for my fans." Hannah said sincerely. Just then, her cell phone started ringing, the opening notes of 'True Friend' letting her know instantly who was calling her. Her eyes shooting in the direction of her phone, she started edging towards it. "Uhhh, I really have to get this..."

"No problem," Tony said, heading rapidly for the door. "Just leave your table outside your room and someone will be by to collect it when your done." Hannah nodded in understanding, smiling gracefully the whole time.

Miley waited impatiently for the door to shut behind him, then snatched the wig off of her head, threw it in the general direction of the hotel desk, before jumping towards her bed, landing on it with a thump as she snatched up her phone. Breathlessly, she hit the reply button before bringing the phone to her ear. "Hey Lilly!" Miley said brightly, trying to bring her breathing under control as she felt her stomach quiver with nervous excitement.

"Miley!" The sound of her best friend's voice echoing in her ear brought a grin to her face. "I just got your text!"

"Oh! Yeah...I didn't wanna call in case you were asleep...but I wanted to wish you good luck tomorrow." Miley explained. "Speaking of which...why aren't you asleep?" Miley asked, curious. "You've got a big day tomorrow."

Lilly laughed at the question. "Too excited." Lilly replied, cheerfully. "I don't know if I'll ever get to sleep tonight. Besides, I just got back to the beach house an hour ago...stayed at the skate park practicing until they closed, and then I stopped at Rico's for a late snack before coming back here, I just got out of the shower about twenty minutes ago." Lilly explained.

"Oh." Miley said, relaxing back on her back, propping the pillows up behind her, just relishing in the sound of her best friend's voice.

"Besides, I should be asking you the same question. Why are you awake? Isn't it like, three-thirty in the morning where you are?" Lilly asked, and Miley could hear the note of concern in Lilly's voice.

_'What do I do?'_ Miley asked herself, quickly weighing the pro's and con's in her mind. _'If I tell her the truth, that I haven't slept well all month she'll be worried about me and that could affect her skating tomorrow. On the other hand, I've never really lied to Lilly, and I really don't want to start now...'_ Miley bit her lip, indecisively as she thought about what she should do. Then the devil's advocate whispered seductively in her ear. _'It's not like she's ever going to find out, she's in California and I won't be back from tour for another two months. My sleeping problems can't possibly last that long.'_

"Miley...are you still there?" Lilly asked, when she had apparently been silent for two long.

"Sorry...got distracted by the TV." Miley lied. "What was the question?" she asked, even though she already knew.

"What are you doing awake?" Lilly asked again, still curious and now more concerned than ever.

"I just got in room service." Miley answered truthfully. '_Well, at least that part's honest.' _Miley thought at herself, scornfully.

"At this hour?" Lilly asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, I didn't really get a chance to eat earlier. I crashed right after the concert, so I kinda woke up hungry." Miley explained truthfully.

"Awww, poor Miley." Lilly frowned in commiseration. "You work so hard when you're on tour. Should I let you go so you can eat?"

Miley glanced over at the table of food that was waiting for her, feeling her stomach grumble in protest at the delay. She was twisted with indecision. She knew she really needed to eat, but at the same time she didn't want Lilly to hang up. She hadn't talked to her all day today and had really missed hearing her voice. "No, it's okay. The food isn't going anywhere and I'd rather talk to you."

"Are you sure?" Lilly asked, still concerned about her best friend. "You should eat if you're hungry, Miles."

"It's all right, Lils, I'll eat when we hang up." Miley said, confidently. "So, are you nervous about tomorrow?" Miley asked, turning onto her side and propping herself up with her elbow. She could easily picture Lilly in the same posture on her bed at home and the image was comforting somehow.

"I'll say!" Lilly chortled. "I feel like my stomach is doing summersaults as we speak." She said, with a giggle. Miley laughed with her, knowing exactly how she felt. She felt that same excited anticipation before every concert. It's what kept her going back for more, it was a highly intoxicating and addictive feeling.

"I know what you mean. It's like being on a Hannah tour."

"Really?" Lilly asked, getting new insight into her best friend. "This is what you feel like before a concert?" Lilly asked, then realized what that meant. How many Hannah concerts did Miley do in a year? Even before her summer tour, Miley must have done at least a couple hundred concerts during the school year alone. "You feel like this all the time?"

Miley had to laugh at that. "Not all the time! Just before concerts. My best friends do a pretty good job of keeping me grounded the rest of the time."

"Yeah, we do, don't we?" Lilly asked, putting on a feigned air of conceit of being one of the few who kept Hannah Montana from losing her head. "Still...it must be pretty hard. I'm freaking out about being on camera for just one day, and you do it all the time. I don't know how you do it."

_'Sometimes, not very well.' _Miley thought to herself, but knew she couldn't say that out loud. She didn't want Lilly to worry about her. "Because I have you...and Oliver...and Daddy and Jackson. I couldn't do it without you. You guys keep me sane." Miley said, speaking from the heart. Deciding that their conversation was getting a little too maudlin, Miley decided to perk it up a bit. "Anyways, that's how I know you're going to do great tomorrow! You've worked hard for this, and you deserve it."

"Well, I don't know if I'll win, but...I really don't want to look like a fool on national television, either. If I can come in fourth I'll be happy."

"Come on, Lilly! You have to believe in yourself in order to get anything! Right here, right now, I'm predicting first place!"

Lilly giggled at Miley's antics. "Well, I don't know about first, like I said, I'll be happy if I come in fourth. True if I do win, then I get to go to Nationals, but if I lose it's really no big deal. I'll just meet up with you at your concert in New York in two weeks."

Miley felt her breath catch in her throat as excitement scurried through her. "Seriously?"

"Sure! If I lose I won't have to spend all my time practicing. Besides, Lola would really love to visit the Big Apple. Not to mention seeing Hannah Live in concert instead of on TV that night like all the other poor fans who weren't able to be there in person to witness her glory."

Miley burst out laughing at that, shaking her head in amusement. Lilly sure did have a way with words sometimes. "Well, I know Hannah would love to have her there, just don't forfeit the competition on her account." Miley said, when she could finally stop laughing. Glancing at the alarm clock, Miley's eyes widened when she saw that they'd been chatting for close to half an hour now. "Speaking of which...if you don't get some sleep soon, you'll be so tired in the morning that you'll be falling down instead of doing your stunts tomorrow."

Lilly sighed, pensively. "I know...I'm just still so wired that I don't think I'm going to be able to fall asleep..." She let the thought trail off as she thought of something. "Unless..." She said, quietly, as if she were afraid to mention it.

Bemused by Lilly's sudden quietness, Miley prodded, "Unless?"

Emboldened by Miley's prompt, Lilly seized her nerves long enough to ask, "Sing me to sleep, Miles?"

Taken aback by the question, Miley flopped over onto her back, staring at the phone, incredulously. "What?" she asked, when she could break out of her stupor.

"Please, Miley? Sing me to sleep." Lilly asked, a hint of a plea in her tone.

Miley was flabbergasted by the request. Lilly had never asked her to do that for her before. It hit a strangely vulnerable spot she had inside for Lilly, which made her feel apprehensive. But at the same time, she couldn't think of a reason to deny her. "Do you have any requests?" She meant to joke, but her voice came out husky.

"You pick." Lilly said, decisively.

Miley thought about what she would sing of a few moments, going through a list of songs in her mind before she finally settled on the right one. "Okay...get comfy...let me know when you're ready." Miley adjusted the pillows under her neck and listened to the sounds of rustling covers coming from Lilly's end, knowing that Lilly must be getting settled under the blankets of Miley's bed at home.

A few more seconds passed, and then Lilly quietly said, "I'm ready."

Miley started humming a soothing tune Lilly instantly recognized, bringing a smile to her face. "I'll be right here when you need me,  
Anytime just keep believin, And I'll be right here."

"Strangely appropriate." Lilly murmured, causing Miley to smile.

"Shhh." Miley admonished. "Close your eyes." Lilly giggled at that, then did as her friend suggested. "If you ever need a friend,  
Someone to care and understand, I'll be right here."

Lilly sighed at the warm feeling those words gave her, knowing that they were true, and Miley was singing them just for her.

"All you have to do is call my name, no matter how close or far away, ask me once and I'll come, I'll come runnin." Miley sang softly, feeling her eyes prickle with tears, knowing that she would drop everything, her tour, all her commitments if only Lilly asked her to.

"And when I can't be with you dream me near, keep me in your heart and I'll appear, all you gotta do is turn around, close your eyes, look inside. I'm right here." Lilly smiled at those words, picturing Miley so clearly inside her head that it was almost as if they were in the same room together. She sighed in contentment, beginning to relax as Miley's voice nudged her closer and closer to sleep.

Miley kept singing, releasing the emotions the song evoked in a silent stream of tears that trickled down her face. Her voice low and husky, Miley was sure that Lilly couldn't tell that she was crying, as Lilly was being lulled to dreamland by her best friend. Finally, as she reached the end of the song, Miley reached up to swab at her wet face. All she could hear from the other end was the sound of Lilly breathing. "Lilly?" Miley called out softly, testing to see if she was still awake. She heard a protesting groan, then a murmured, "Night Miley." before the connection was broken.

"Night Lilly." Miley sighed, as she put her cell phone back on the nightstand, then went to the table to get her now cold food. 


	3. Competition

Chapter two: Competition

With the hot sun bearing down on the back of her neck, Lilly twitched nervously as she stood in line with other competitors waiting to check in for today's competition. A bead of sweat formed and slid itchily down her back, tempting her to wipe it away, but at the same time, she didn't want to draw attention to herself. The skate park was already more jammed full of people than she had ever seen it, between skaters, competition officials, sports reporters and spectators, the crowd seemed to her to be enormous, and while she had grown used to the attention she received as Hannah's best friend Lola Luftnagle, she wasn't prepared for receiving the same amount of attention for being herself.

To make matters worse, Oliver for some reason had decided that today was the day to get hyped up on caffeinated beverages and attempt to drive her mad with inane conversation, only half of which she was actually listening to, the rest of her attention being equally divided between waiting for the seemingly never ending long line of competitors to move in front of her, something they seemed to be doing at a snail's pace, and trying to ignore the sensation of what felt like a thousand curious eyes bearing down on her. If she hadn't before, now she could truly appreciate what her best friend went through all the time. Again she found herself wondering how Miley did it, if she had to put up with this amount of attention all the time she would truly go insane.

"Think she's watching?" Lilly had tuned in again to Oliver just in time to hear him mutter that, and while normally she would know exactly who he was referring to, while feeling the countless spidery eyes of the spectators on her back, today was not one of those days.

"Who?" Lilly snapped, glaring over at Oliver for not being more clear.

"What do you mean who? You know who." Oliver said, eyeing her with a look of disbelief, as if he couldn't believe he had just heard that word come out of her mouth. "Miley." he clarified, stretching the name out as if he was attempting to sink it into her subconscious.

Lilly rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the irritation she was feeling with him. She knew he was trying to be helpful, chatting her up in his attempt to keep her calm. It wasn't his fault that it wasn't working. Blowing out a breath of air in an attempt to keep herself from exploding, she answered his question. "Well she said she would if she could, but you know what her schedule is like when she's on the road." Lilly said, trying to keep her voice low so the person standing in front of her wouldn't overhear the conversation.

Oliver nodded his head, sagely. "Yeah, first she has to get away from Anna-hay." he blurted out, rather loudly, as if the guy in front of them wouldn't be able to figure out that subtle piece of Pig Latin he had just spoken. Lilly cringed as the guy in question looked back to stare at them.

_'You doughnut! Why don't you just blurt it out to the world? Miley Stewart is Hannah Montana!' _Lilly thought, glaring heatedly at Oliver, before turning to meet the other guy's curious stare. "Hah! He's just kidding." Lilly put a fake, happy grin on her face as she attempted to wave the guy off. "Such a kidder." She repeated, smiling through clenched teeth as she punched Oliver hard on the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?" Oliver said, looking wounded as he rubbed his shoulder. The guy in front of them, apparently deciding this was not worth getting involved in, turned back around studiously ignoring what was going on in back of him.

Lilly gave Oliver a 'You idiot' look but chose not to comment on it any further. If she didn't watch herself, she would be the one blurting out Miley's secret. Instead, she tried to get rid of him before he could drive her any crazier. "Isn't there...I don't know...something else that you could be doing right now?" Lilly asked, stressing the word else. _'Besides bothering me!'_ her inner voice growled, though she refrained from saying it out loud.

Oliver held his hands up defensively in front of him, as if he were fending off a ferocious tiger. "Touchy, touchy." He grinned, earning another black glare from Lilly. Looking around the crowded skate park, Lilly knew when his eyes landed on a group of girls standing around chatting, waiting for the action to start, by the sparkle that lit them up and the grin that spread ever wider on his face. "As a matter of fact I do. Time to go spread the old 'smoken Oken' charm. Catch ya later."

Lilly shook her head as she watched him go, then shook her body out, trying to shake her aggravation out with it as her thoughts turned to Miley, wondering just what she was doing right at that moment.

-HM-

"Joining us live today after an enormously successful and energetic concert last night right here in our very own city of Philadelphia, Hannah Montana. Thank you so much for being here today, Hannah." Hannah smiled pleasantly over at the perky, blonde television commentator who looked much more fresh and alive then she herself felt at that moment as she struggled to keep her own exhaustion from showing on her face.

"It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me." Hannah replied, keeping the smile on her face. Done with the pleasantries, the mid-morning reporter jumped right into the interview, slinging a string of questions at Hannah who luckily had heard most of them at least a thousand times before and so was able to answer them almost by rote.

While the half of her mind that was Hannah Montana continued to answer the reporter's questions, the rest of Miley's mind drifted back to the events that had occurred early that morning, or more importantly, the emotions she had felt during and after the phone call with Lilly. The amount of loneliness that had sprung up during that call had surprised her with its intensity, the great burning ache that had been left in her chest after the call had finished, robbing her of her appetite and leaving her nibbling unenthusiastically at her food, had her wondering just what she was feeling. While it was quite natural to miss Lilly, she shouldn't be missing her quite this much. It was almost as if she...but no...that's impossible...she mentally shook her head, shoving the thought away as she had done for the rest of the morning. It was ridiculous to even think about. Lilly was her best friend, nothing more.

"So...Hannah, I'm sure all of the young men out there in our fair city would love to know the answer to this question." The blonde reporter smiled impishly at Hannah, bringing Miley's mind back to the interview. Leaning closer, as if they were two confidant's sharing a secret, the reporter asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

_'Think's she's being cute!'_ Miley thought to herself, mentally rolling her eyes at the question while outwardly keeping her Hannah Montana persona in place. "Sadly, no. I don't." Hannah answered simply and truthfully. Feeling her mouth going dry, she reached for the bottle of water that had been provided to her.

She was in the middle of taking a much needed sip when the reporter's next question caught her completely off guard. "Girlfriend?" Miley choked, feeling the water painfully searing her nostrils as it went the wrong way. Distractedly, she heard the reporter hastily cut to a commercial break while she tried to cough up the water that had interjected its way into her lungs. Waving away the stage hands that had rushed up to the set to help, Miley continued to cough until the irritated spasms that wracked her chest settled down and she was able to breathe easier.

"I am so sorry. I didn't realize that question would have such an effect on you." The reporter apologized, a curious look taking over the blonde's face while she watched Hannah regain her composure. _'Hit a nerve with that one.' _She had time to think while Hannah continued to breathe in and out slowly. _'Interesting.'_

"Fine...it's fine." Hannah managed, continuing to cough a little. "I just wasn't expecting that." she said, by way of explanation, hoping against all hope that her little snafu wouldn't get all blown out of proportion, but also smart enough to realize that anything that she did in the public eye could and most likely would be blown out of proportion, leaving her to wonder now how she would deal with it if and when it did.

"Are you able to continue?" The reporter asked, still eyeing Hannah with a curious gleam in her eye.

Miley nodded wordlessly, preparing herself now to doing damage control.

-HM-

Lilly breathed a sigh of relief as she finally reached the check-in table. It had been a long wait and she was anxious to get this part of her day over and done with. There was nothing that she hated more than waiting in line. "Name?" The attendant asked, looking up at her with a decidedly bored expression plastered all over the woman's face.

"Lilly Truscott." Lilly replied, watching patiently as the woman went through a pile of papers with a list of names typed neatly on them. Long, agonizing minutes later, the woman finally spotted her name among the names of the other contestants and grunted agreeably. She began handing her a bunch of forms, which included a list of rules and regulations that she had to follow in order to compete, safety disclaimers in case of accidents happening on the course, etc.

"You skate last." The woman informed her as she handed her the numbered decals for the back of her helmet and jersey that would identify her apart from the other contestants. Nodding silently, Lilly wandered away from the table feeling the anxiety swimming in her stomach increase. Skating last could be either good or bad depending on how you looked at it. It would give her time to watch the other contestants, letting her size up her competition to see if she even stood a chance here. On the other hand, if someone skated exeptionally well it would increase the pressure, knowing that she'd have to skate her best in order to defeat that person. Either way, she was looking at a long, gruelling day here at the skate park. Still, that would leave Miley time to finish whatever she was doing in Philadelphia and get back to her hotel room to watch Lilly skate. Lilly was grateful for that much at least.

-HM-

"Worst interview ever." Miley groaned as she sank into the soft plushness inside the limo, closing her eyes as she rested her head back against the seat. She felt the seat shake with Robbie Ray's weight as he settled into the limo beside her.

"Come on darlin', it wasn't that bad." her Daddy said, apparently trying to cheer her up.

Miley shot him a look of outright disbelief. "Not that bad?" Miley mimicked. "Dad, I choked on live TV...literally." Not to mention the question that had caused her to choke in the first place. Miley couldn't believe the nerve of that reporter. Even though she had worked hard in the last half of the interview to control the damage her little coughing fit had done she knew the press wasn't going to just let it go. They tended to be vicious that way. She could see the headline on the latest gossip magazine now. _'__**Does Hannah Montana have a secret girlfriend? Check inside to find out.' **_Just thinking about that made her shudder.

"Come on, Miles. You've been in this spot before, it'll blow over. You remember that time you were going on the Taylor Kingsford show, but you came back from camping with a bad case of poison oak and you had to create that brand new dance right up there on stage. Now, what was it again..." Robbie Ray trailed off as if he had to think up the answer, but from the smile on his face Miley knew he didn't have to think too hard about it. "Oh yeah, I remember now. " He said, his words emphasized by his slow, southern drawl. "The Scratch dance."

Miley rolled her eyes at the remembered embarrassment. "Or what about that time the press thought that Hannah Montana was dating Jackson and you had to break up with your brother on the 'wake up it's Wendy' show?"

"Is this trip down embarrassing memory lane supposed to be telling me something?" Miley asked, just wishing her daddy would stop dredging up moments in time that made her cringe.

Apparently taking pity on her, Robbie Ray got to the point. "Just that you got through those other times just fine and you're gonna get through this one. Just give it some time."

"Yeah." Miley sighed, turning her attention out the window, staring disconsolately out at the city as it passed by her view. It was easy for him to say, he wasn't the one who was going to have to live with all of the rumors that would quickly be spread by her snafu at the TV station. It was going to be a publicity nightmare she knew, and right now all she really wanted to do was go back to her hotel, flop exhaustedly down on her bed, and forget about everything by watching Lilly skate.

-HM-

'All the way up, all the way down, holding my breath, letting it out...want it my way, I do what I do, I know what I like and baby it's you...' Lilly bobbed her head, lips moving silently along with the lyrics of the music being pumped into her ears from the headphones of her ipod, as she lost herself and her case of nerves with the beat of her new favorite song as she waited for her turn to skate, which would be a long time in coming seeing as the number of people that were scheduled to skate before her were too numerous to think about at the moment. While normally she would be listening to Hannah, right now that would just make her miss Miley all the more so she had decided to give this new artist a try and had discovered that she wasn't half bad.

Stretching, she happened to glance over where Oliver seemed to be having some success chatting up an attractive looking red haired girl. _'At least, he hasn't been chased away yet.' _Lilly thought to herself as she saw the girl laugh at something Oliver was saying. Oliver caught her glance and flashed her a thumb's up sign. Grinning, Lilly winked back at him, then shook her head in amusement. True he was a doughnut, but he was _her _doughnut, well, her's and Miley's.

Turning her attention back to the competition, she watched the next competitor in line begin his routine. The guy was good, she realized very quickly as she watched his performance, feeling her mouth slack open as he pulled off some amazing stunts, seemingly effortlessly, and she realized she'd have to pump up her routine even more to make fourth. The competition here was just that good. Swallowing hard, she found herself wishing that Miley was here, her spunky friend always helped to keep her confidence up.

-HM-

Miley let herself fall backwards onto her bed, groaning as the soft mattress cushioned her fall. Shutting her eyes for just a moment, she almost surrendered to the siren's song of sleep. _'Lilly.'_ The thought jolted her back into alertness like an alarm clock going off next to her ear would have. Sitting up, her heartbeat beating a staccato in her chest, Miley grabbed for the remote control, turned the television on, then found the sports channel that was broadcasting the skateboarding competition in California, then sat back against the headboard, pillows cushioning her back, and settled in to watch it.

_'It has been a tremendous day out here at the skate park in Malibu, California. The competition here has been nailbiting as all of the competitors here seem to be on top of their game. With only one person left to skate, one of our very own from right here in Malibu, Lillian Truscott, the winners of today's competition, and the person who will be heading on to nationals should be known very soon. Stay tuned as more of the action resumes, right after these messages.'_

"Come on...stupid commercials." Miley muttered as the channel cut to a commercial break, before a rapping at her door caught her attention.

"Yeah?" Miley called, jumping up from her bed as she raced to answer the door, hoping to get rid of the person on the other side before the show came back on.

Miley blinked as she opened the door to reveal her father standing there, arm raised as if he was getting ready to knock again. "You ready to go, Bud?" Robbie Ray asked, as he looked around Miley's hotel room and noticed the distinct lack of packing going on there. "Miley come on. We need to get a move on if we're gonna make Baltimore by tonight."

"Not now, Dad." Miley said, making a sound of annoyance as she headed back to her bed. "Lilly's about to skate." She announced as she flounced onto her mattress, bouncing a few times as she settled in.

"That's today?" Robbie Ray asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Yes." Miley dragged the word out, as if the answer should have been obvious.

"I clear plum forgot all about that. Why didn't you remind me, Bud? I wanted to see that." Robbie Ray chastised as he looked down at his daughter, who was spread out over as much of the queen sized bed as she could manage. "Scootch over, will ya?"

Miley rolled her eyes as she scooted out of his way, going back to her previous positioning of sitting with her back against the headboard.

Neither one said a word until the telecast came back on and they caught a glimpse of Lilly, resplendent in all of her skating gear, stretching herself out in the background as she prepared for her upcoming skate, while the reporter talked to the camera. _"Skating next, for the first time ever in this state wide competition, Malibu's very own, Lilly Truscott.'_

"Boy, she looks more nervous than a fox getting caught raiding a henhouse." Robbie Ray muttered to Miley, who nodded but didn't say a word. She was too busy soaking up the sight of her best friend, who did look nervous to Miley's eyes, but she could also see that gleam of determination Lilly sometimes got when she was adamant about something.

"She's going to do fine." Miley whispered, mostly to herself, as her eyes never left the screen, too captivated by what she was watching to look anywhere else.

-HM-

_'You can do this. You can do this. Miley believes in you. You can do this.' _Lilly coached herself as she stood on the sidelines stretching out her muscles as she waited for the go ahead. The butterflies in her stomach were now doing a frenzied race inside her stomach, almost making her feel like she wanted to throw up, but she swallowed against the urge, breathing slowly in and out of her nose to help calm her racing nerves.

"Next up, Lilly Truscott from Malibu." Hearing her name get called increased her anxiety, but she forced herself to keep breathing, rolling her shoulders to ease the tension out of them as she walked over to the starting point. Putting all of her consciousness into preparation, she was able to ignore some of the anxiety racing through her, until an official touched her arm.

"Ready?" he asked, making sure she was prepared before he gave the go ahead.

Nodding back at him, Lilly got herself into position. "Go!" Lilly barely heard the order before she was launching herself off of the top of the ramp, preparing for her first trick while she was still mid-air. Now she was only focusing on the performance, her anxiety from before was just about gone, all she could feel now was the wind in her face, the surface of the track, when she actually made connection, and the fire in her belly that was pushing her along.

-HM-

Miley couldn't believe her eyes. Though she had watched Lilly practice more times than she could count, she had never seen her friend quite like this before. So focused, so determined. She had the grace of a ballerina, the ability to defy gravity like an acrobat, and the swiftness of a speed skater making it appear almost effortless as she performed her tricks. Miley knew the number of hard hours that Lilly practiced that went into making what she did now look almost easy. Miley also knew that the tricks Lilly was performing was some of the hardest ones in the books. As good as Miley was at dancing, that's how good Lilly was at skateboarding, and Miley could tell that Lilly was wowing the audience by the amount of shouting and cheering that was resounding in the skate park. Lilly was amazing them all.

"Whoo boy, look at her go!" Miley grinned as her father erupted beside her, his cheers echoing off of the hotel room walls.

"Go Lilly!" Miley shouted, joining her father in his exhuberant excitement, feeling goosebumps erupt down her back as she watched her friend skate. _'She's really going to do this.' _The thought flashed across Miley's mind at lightning speed. _'Lilly's going to win this competition_

-HM-

Lilly vaguely heard what sounded like the roar of the ocean resounding in her ears. It didn't occur to her until she had finished her last trick and was standing on the lip of the ramp, breathing heavily from her exertions what it really was, thunderous applause.

"Way to go Lilly!" she heard Oliver's shout out from among the sea of spectators and though she couldn't see him, she grinned in his general direction, knowing he'd know who she was grinning for. Shrugging lightly, she waved at her audience, just as she'd seen Miley do at least a million times before. Then, with nothing more for her to do, she'd already done the best she could, she stood there quietly catching her breath while she waited for the judges' decision.

-HM-

Miley was excited for Lilly after seeing her skate, and she waited breathlessly, fingers crossed, for the final results. While the majority of herself wanted Lilly to win for Lilly's sake, there was a part of her, a small, nasty part of herself, one that she wasn't at all proud of, that was really hoping she'd lose. If Lilly won, she'd be going on to Nationals in six weeks, which would mean needing more time than ever to practice, which would mean that Lilly wouldn't be able to meet up with her at her concert in New York in two weeks. Miley admitted to herself that this need to have Lilly with her was selfish, and she wouldn't allow the wish to be made known to anybody, but she couldn't help its being there all the same.

Miley caught her breath as an official looking person broke through the crowd and approached the spot where Lilly was standing. Microphone in hand, the official spoke to the spectators and the television audience watching at home. "The winner of this year's California state skateboarding competition, and representing the state of California at Nationals in six weeks is, Lilly Truscott from Malibu."

"Whee doggies, she did it!" Miley heard her father shout out exuberantly and wished she could celebrate along with her father as he was hugging her excitedly, but all she felt was numb as she watched Lilly's reaction to winning on screen. At first, the only sign that Lilly even knew she had won was her mouth dropping wide open, then she started doing a little jiggly dance right there on top of the ramp, then she was hugging the official while saying thank you over and over again, a happy smile spread all over her face.

"Isn't that great, bud?" Robbie Ray asked, glancing into his daughter's face. For a second he almost thought he saw sadness instead of happiness in his daughter's eyes, and started to question it, but then she seemed to break out of her stupor, a wide grin appearing on her lips as she blurted out.

"Of course it's great! Why wouldn't it be great? She won! Yay, Lilly!" She even did a rah rah gesture with her arm, but still something in the way his daughter was reacting to Lilly's winning bothered him. He wanted to question her about it but he figured now wasn't the time to do so.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go finish packing. You should start packing yourself. Meet me downstairs in an hour, we really need to get going."

"Okay, daddy. I just want to call Lilly and congratulate her." Miley said, glancing back at the television, where Lilly was still getting congratulated.

"Okay, Bud." Robbie Ray kissed the top of Miley's head, still concerned about her, but not really knowing why, then left the room. Miley's attention was still peeled to the screen.

Apparently, they had decided to allow Lilly some air time, as she now had the microphone and was speaking into it excitedly. "I just wanted to thank two people, both of which I couldn't see my life without and helped to get me to where I am today. Oliver Oken, who was able to be here with me today, and Miley Stuart, who, even though she wasn't able to be here, I know that no matter where she is she's still watching and supporting me. I love you guys." Miley felt tears welling up in her eyes as she watched Lilly hand the microphone back to the official, waved at the audience, then began to climb down from the skate ramp.

"I love you too, Lilly." Miley whispered, as the tears washed over her cheeks.


	4. Tabloid Troubles

Hey guys! I know it's been forever since I updated this thing, took me longer to write this one than I ever planned, but it is a long one so hopefully it will be worth the wait. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.

By the way, I just don't think Rico gets used enough in the stories, so I added him to mine and gave him a pivotal role.:) Enjoy!

Chapter three: tabloid trouble

Just over a week had passed since Lilly had won the California state skateboarding competition, and she was still pinching herself, waiting to wake up from what she perceived to be a dream. It had been a whirlwind of a week, between sports reporters asking her for interviews for sports magazines and skateboarding enthusiasts coming up to her and asking for her autograph, something that took Lilly completely by surprise the first time it had happened, she'd never been asked for her autograph before, not even as Lola, so this new surge of interest in her for her sake alone and not because she was best friends with Hannah Montana, had thrown her for a bit of a loop. Between all of that new attention and ratcheting up her skateboarding practice getting ready for the upcoming Nationals, now five weeks away, she hadn't had a whole lot of time to herself.

Just finishing up a practice run, she stopped on top of the ramp when she saw Oliver making his way across the skate park and over to where she was. "Hey Oliver!" Lilly called out, smiling as he waved back. Speaking of lack of extra time, she hadn't seen a whole lot of Oliver since she'd won, too caught up in the whirlwind to really get a chance to break away and see how his flirting session at the competition had wound up, leaving her wondering if he'd managed to get the red-headed girl he'd been talking to that day.

"Hey!" Oliver called back, his face breaking out into a grin. "You got time to take a break, or are you just getting started?" He asked, squinting his eyes as he tried to make out her form against the gleam of the hot summer sun.

"I could always use a break." Lilly replied, climbing down off the ramp, one arm clutching the skateboard she'd been practicing with. "What do you have in mind?" Lilly asked, as she took off her helmet, and then used the towel in her gym bag to wipe off the sweat that had accumulated on her face, forehead, and neck.

"Figured we could go to Rico's for some Nachos." Oliver said, with a shrug.

"Sure!" Lilly said enthusiastically, having missed spending time with her friend; she was up for just about anything right now. As she stowed her gear into her gym bag, she studied Oliver's face surreptitiously. He didn't look any different than normal, still his calm and cool self, and she was happy to note he wasn't acting any differently toward her now that she'd won. She didn't think that he would, after all he handled Miley's fame and fortune normally with a cool grace, but she didn't know if he'd handle her the same way. "So...I haven't seen you since the day of the competition...did you ever get that girl's number?" Lilly asked, her face crinkling into a grin.

"What girl?" Oliver asked, trying to play it cool, Lilly surmised, as they started to walk, side by side, out of the skate park.

"The one I saw you with that day, you know...the red head?" Lilly asked, amused by Oliver's obvious reluctance to talk about it.

Oliver hummed under his breath for a minute, and then gave her a quick glance. "I don't really want to talk about it." Lilly's stomach fell as she picked up the glum in Oliver's voice. _'Poor Oliver...struck out again.'_ Lilly thought to herself, shaking her head minutely. The boy had the worst luck when it came to relationships. "Have you heard from Miley?" Oliver asked, abruptly changing the subject.

The question caught Lilly like a knife to the heart. Over the last week, the calls from Miley had pretty much dried up. Before the skating competition Miley had called almost every day without fail, the only exception being concert days. This last week she'd received only two and the calls weren't very long. The first one had been immediately after Lilly had won the competition, Miley had called to congratulate her, and though Miley had tried so hard to hide it, Lilly could still hear the faint tone of disappointment in her best friend's voice. Lilly knew why Miley would be disappointed. Winning the competition had pretty much decided her moves for the next six weeks and while she had wanted to be able to meet up with Miley for her concert in New York, now it just wasn't possible. She now had to use every available moment to practice for the upcoming Nationals. She hoped that Miley understood that. She wanted to be able to be there for Miley, but this was also her first big break and she had to see this through.

The second time Miley had called, she had sounded tired, and distant, and the call hadn't lasted very long, as if Miley couldn't wait to get off the phone. Lilly had felt especially bad after that phone call and for the next several days when a call from Miley hadn't been forthcoming had wondered if she should call her instead, but had decided to let her friend work through whatever she was going through on her own. She hoped it would be quick though, because she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to keep herself back from calling her.

"Not yet, huh?" Oliver asked when Lilly kept silent. Lilly had told him about the last few phone calls, Oliver acting as a sounding board to Lilly's frustration. "Don't worry...she'll come around. She always does." Oliver sounded confident, and he was probably right, Lilly reflected. As many times as she and Miley had fought, they could never stay angry with each other for long, and this wasn't even a real fight. It was just a case of Miley acting odd and she was overreacting to the strangeness.

Lilly was brought out of her Miley inspired thoughts as they approached Rico's snack shack and she heard Oliver murmur 'Uh oh' under his breath. Casting Oliver a bewildered look, she asked him what was wrong. "Look at Rico..." Oliver muttered, pointing a long arm in the kid's direction. Following Oliver's finger, she caught sight of the tiny tyrant hunched over his snack counter, a magazine spread open in front of him, an evil grin splashed all over his face, and Lilly could swear she could hear cackles of laughter issuing from the boy from where she stood. "Is he...laughing?" Lilly asked as if this was the first time she had heard the little runt laugh.

"Never a good sign." Oliver replied, saying out loud what Lilly had been thinking to herself.

"Yeah...let's go see what's so funny." Lilly murmured back, keeping her eyes on the sadistic little monster as she walked up to the snack shack. "Hey...Rico…what's up?" Lilly asked, taking a seat at the counter. Rico glanced up at her, but continued laughing, his entire body shaking with his mirth.

"Oh...this is just too good." He replied, the grin growing ever wider on his face.

"What is?" Lilly asked, keeping her face carefully neutral. The boy was evil, just plain evil, and if she didn't watch herself, he'd sucker her right in.

"This new article on Hannah Montana. Apparently she has a new love interest, or, to put it more accurately, an ongoing one they've just found out about." Rico answered, gesturing at the tabloid magazine in front of him.

Lilly had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. The tabloids were constantly making up stories about Hannah Montana, and trying to pass it off as if it were gospel truth. Lilly remembered one memorable time when they'd actually claimed that Hannah Montana was really a guy. She and Miley had both joked and laughed over that, until Miley had found the made-up picture of Hannah as a male, both of them fawning over the picture, until they'd both decided that it was really creepy to be drooling over a made up picture of your best friend.

"So...which one of the Hollywood heartthrobs is she supposedly dating this week?" Lilly asked, trying to hide the boredom in her voice. She amused herself by idly going through the most popular boys in Hollywood right now in her head, that was until she noticed the wicked gleam in Rico's eyes hadn't died down and he was shaking his head slowly.

"Wrong...not this time." Rico said with a malicious chuckle, holding the magazine up in front of him so that Lilly could see the cover. _'__**Does Hannah Montana have a secret girlfriend?'**_ The title question asked, and there was a picture on the cover, one of Hannah and another person, but you couldn't really make out the identity of this person because they had shadowed the person out, leaving just the outline of a girlish figure. The cover invited you to read inside for more details.

Lilly gasped as the words sank into her brain. "Let me see that!" she demanded, holding her hand out for the magazine.

"Two bucks." Rico said, shaking his head, holding the magazine back and outside of her reach.

"What?" Lilly asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I paid three for it; I'll give it to you for two."

"Rico, I don't want the magazine, I just want to look at it." Lilly said, trying to reason with the little despot.

"Two bucks." The little squirt retorted smugly, knowing she'd fork over the money to see what was inside the magazine.

"Fine." Lilly spat as she dug two crinkled up one dollar bills out of the pocket of her shorts and thrust them over to the smiling little weasel, who promptly unwrinkled the dollars, spreading them out on the counter. "Now give me that." Lilly demanded, reaching for the magazine.

With a smug smirk on his face, Rico handed over the tabloid, watching Lilly's face with interest as she first examined the front cover, and then flicked it open to where Rico had been reading it.

Lilly could think of many upcoming young starlets, or budding pop music stars that the tabloid, in an effort to sell papers, could have romantically paired with Hannah Montana, but she was completely unprepared for what she actually saw when she opened up the tabloid.

Her back stiffened automatically as a jolt of cold, electric shock zipped down her spine; the result of seeing her own face staring back at her from within the confines of the magazine. Or, to put it more accurately, _Lola's _face. "Oh my god!" The words left her mouth, almost entirely on their own, sounding high, and squeaky, and she felt a strange tingling sensation in her ears as the shock took her body over.

"What?" Oliver asked, watching in concern as Lilly's face drained of all color. Lilly had almost forgotten he was even sitting there, hearing his voice, almost as if it were coming from a great distance instead of right next to her, the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears muffling the sounds out around her.

"What is it?" Oliver asked again, his concern growing as Lilly finally broke her gaze away from the tabloid she was staring at to look up at him, but though she opened up her mouth to speak, no words were forthcoming.

"What?" Oliver snapped again, his worry causing him to sound harsh. Still unable to form words, much less speak them, Lilly simply handed the tabloid over to him, hoping that he could make sense out of what she was seeing.

Oliver looked down at the tabloid that he was holding and said the first four words that jumped into his head, totally without thinking them out first. "That is so hot!"

Hearing Rico chuckle at the words Oliver had spoken snapped Lilly out of her daze. Knowing that Rico wouldn't be able to see her feet from where he stood behind the counter, she let one fly, hitting Oliver right in the shin as she glared at him meaningfully. "Ow! What? I can't help it! It is!" Oliver protested, rubbing his now aching shin.

Lilly found herself making a sound of dismissal, as she argued back defensively. "It's probably not even true!" Lilly ground out, her eyes boring into Oliver's as she tried to subtly remind him that while the magazine was talking about Hannah and Lola, in reality it was actually talking about Miley and Lilly, his best friends! "Tabloids are so despicable! They just make up stories to sell papers!" Lilly said, her words dripping with disdain.

"What makes you think it's not true?" Rico asked, shrewdly. Lilly's head swiveled around so fast she almost got whiplash. She'd almost forgotten that the little runt was still standing there.

_'Because I'm Lola! I think I would know if I was dating Hannah Montana!' _Lilly thought, but wisely kept the words to herself. "What makes you think that it is?" Lilly retorted instead, snapping the words out at him.

Rico's smirk turned cocky as he started counting down his reasoning on his fingers. "Three reasons. Hannah Montana is never seen in public with a guy longer than a week," Rico said, holding up his first finger.

_'Well, that much is true.'_ Lilly thought to herself. _'Hannah does seem to go through them.' _ A rapid kaleidoscope of guys 'Hannah' had dated zipped through Lilly's mind. While Miley had only truly dated a couple of guys, Hannah had 'dated' a bevy of Hollywood's hottest heartthrobs, mostly for the publicity, which the tabloids seemed to eat up with a silver spoon.

"Second, the only person Hannah is consistently seen with everywhere she goes is Rainbow Bright." Rico said, caustically, holding up his second finger.

_'Hey!'_ Lilly had to bite her tongue to keep herself from protesting the nickname out loud. _'Watch it, you little punk!' _She thought, disgruntled, but kept her mouth shut.

"And last, but definitely not least, those pictures." Rico said, pointing at the magazine Oliver was still holding. "Pictures like that can't be denied. It's obvious, they love each other." Rico said, dragging out the word love childishly. "It's written all over their faces."

Lilly opened her mouth to deny his conclusions, but found herself unable to say anything as she glared into his smug face. The staring contest only lasted a moment, before Rico became distracted by some kids messing around with the table and chairs in front of the snack shack and he took off over the counter to deal with them.

"Well...that's just...he's crazy!" Lilly protested after he had gone. If Oliver heard the defensive tone to her voice, he chose not to comment on it as he continued looking at the pictures plastered all over the page.

"Do you know where these pictures are from?" He asked instead, drawing Lilly's attention back to the magazine.

As a matter of fact, she did, she realized as she looked down at the pictures in the article again. "Yeah, they're from the last red carpet event me and Miley went to before she went on tour." Lilly replied. She was unable to remember what the event had even been for, some new movie release, or some such, whatever it was, the event hadn't seemed important to her at the time. She barely remembered who else had even been there. What had been important was the fact that it would be the last thing she and Miley would be able to do together for the next three months, for Miley was leaving to go on tour the very next day. Lilly remembered feeling exceptionally needy that night, and therefore clingy, hanging all over Miley as they had walked together down the red carpet.

Miley hadn't seemed to mind, however, as she herself had pulled Lilly into several hugs, and had been hanging onto her arm as she'd smiled and waved at the crowd.

Out of all the pictures on the page, one in particular had riveted Lilly's attention. At some point during the long walk down the carpet, Miley had stopped to do a brief interview for one of the many entertainment reporters that usually lined such affairs. Instead of separating herself from Lola, like she would have normally done during an interview, Hannah had put an arm around her waist, drawing her closer as she had answered the questions. Lilly, feeling exceptionally close to Miley in that moment, had rested her head briefly on the Pop star's shoulder. Hannah had gazed down at her and they'd shared a quick smile before the reporter had asked Hannah another question and the moment had been broken as Hannah had to reply. Someone had apparently caught that moment on film, because there it was, in living color, splashed right on the page.

"Well…I can't help it." Oliver said, breaking Lilly's lingering thoughts. "Even though I know the truth, that it's my two best friends on those pages, I still think it's hot." Oliver said, honestly, before drawing back, pointing a finger at her face as he moved his leg out of range of her feet. "And don't even think about kicking me again!"

Lilly rolled her eyes at the typical response. "Figures." Lilly huffed under her breath, grabbing the magazine away from him as she stood up, beginning to gather her stuff.

"Wait…where are you going…I thought we were going to have nachos?" Oliver called after her as she started to walk away.

"I'm not hungry anymore!" Lilly said, glaring at him over her shoulder. She was tempted to throw the vile paper into the wastebasket by Rico's snack shack as she walked past it, and then thinking better of it, clenched her hand around it tightly as she stalked off.

-HM-

Lilly stormed into the beach house very much like a black cloud would on a sunny day. "I can't believe the…of all the…" She was muttering under her breath, anger roiling off of her in waves. Without even turning her head to look where she was throwing, she tossed the tabloid that had ruined her mood onto the wooden coffee table in front of the Stewart's sofa so hard that it slid across the slick wood and almost went over the edge. Dumping the rest of her gear onto the couch, she stomped off toward the kitchen, setting her sights on the refrigerator and ignoring everything else in her path, she almost tripped over the table with legs that was in her way.

As she shoved it almost violently out of her way, she couldn't help thinking, _'Who buys stuff like that anyway?' _Shaking the thought off, she reached into the fridge for a bottle of water, twisted off the cap and started guzzling as if she were dying of thirst.

Lilly didn't know who she was upset with more, the stupid tabloid that had made money off of that story, or Rico and Oliver. At least with Rico she could kind of understand, he had no idea who the tabloid was actually talking about. "Thank god." Lilly murmured, under her breath. But Oliver…Oliver knew, he was supposed to be their friend and he still had reacted like the average teenage boy.

Taking the water back into the living room with her, she paced the length of the room, trying to calm herself down, but every now and again she'd catch a glimpse of the offending magazine out of the corner of her eye, and that would only aggravate her more.

Finally, tired and disgruntled, Lilly sank onto the soft cushions of the Stewart's sofa. She sat there glaring heatedly at the magazine for a long, timeless moment, then, going against her better judgment, she set the water bottle onto the coffee table and reached for the magazine.

Starring impassively at the front cover, she realized that she hadn't had the chance to read what the article actually said. Though she knew that she shouldn't be, she found herself getting curious about what they had said about them, so flicking it back open to the page the story was on, while completely ignoring the pictures for the moment, and skipping over the obligatory 'until recently Hannah Montana has been perceived to be purer than the winter's snow' comments, Lilly started to read the article.

_Speculations have flown recently about Hannah Montana's reaction to a question asked on Philadelphia's early morning talk show which led to the show having to cut to a commercial._

"Miley didn't tell me about that." Lilly muttered to herself, wondering what had happened, although she could kind of guess what the question had been given the nature of the article she was reading now. Lilly felt a pang of sympathy go out to her best friend for having to fend such insinuations off.

_When the show came back on the air, the young pop star did her best to dance around the subject, refusing to answer the question out right, and then abruptly changing the subject. This uncharacteristic hiccup from Hannah Montana, a pop star who normally shines in the spotlight led some viewers to think that maybe the celebrity was guarding a well- kept secret._

Lilly rolled her eyes at that statement. 'Reporters…they're always hunting for a secret.' Lilly thought to herself grumpily. 'If they only knew how far off they are from Hannah's real secret.' Lilly shook her head, forcing her attention back to the article.

_Curious minds have pondered on the identity of Hannah's secret lesbian fling. _Lilly felt herself almost choke on that statement, glad that she hadn't drunk any water before reading it. 'Man, these papers sure love to dramatize things.' _No romantic possibility has been considered too far- fetched in the minds of the viewers, people gladly pairing Hannah up with known young celebrities, from the likes of Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift, to what seems the most outlandish suggestion, Montana's singing arch-rival Mikayla. _Lilly did snort water out of her nose on that one.

"Ow." Lilly complained, with a grimace, as she set the water bottle back down, pinched her nostrils closed then blew air out threw her nose to clear them. "Gross." Lilly muttered, wiping the droplets of water that had fallen on the page away with her hand. It took her a moment to find her place again, but her eyes widened when she did. She was getting to the interesting part.

_Out of all of the suggestions made on who could be Hannah Montana's secret love interest, nobody in the lime light quite seemed to fit the young star. No one, that is until WE uncovered some celebrity photos taken at a recent movie premier, and all of the pieces fell into place. Montana attended the shindig with longstanding friend and gal pal, Lola Luftnagle, where the pair appeared to be inseparable. Have we found out the identity of Hannah's secret love affair? Well, we're convinced, but we'll let you be the judge of that! After all, a picture is worth a thousand words…_

Lilly sank back into the cushions of the sofa, shaking her head in disbelief. 'Those crazy reporters! How can they mistake the affections friends have for each other for those girlfriends would have for each other?' Lilly asked herself, purely befuddled. She wanted to just throw the paper away and forget all about it. Clearly there were a lot of delusional people in the world. There was just one nagging thought that was preventing her from doing just that. Rico had believed the story. And Rico was many things, short, greedy, power hungry; but he was also very, very smart, so smart that he'd been passed up several grades. So if he had believed the story, and he had, what had he seen that had made him believe it? What had he seen that Lilly was not seeing herself?

Lilly studied the pictures again, trying to see what she was missing in them, trying to see what everybody, everyone but her that was, was seeing. She was drawn magnetically back to the picture where she had her head on Miley's shoulder with Miley smiling down at her, both of them smiling at each other.

What was it Rico had said? _'"Pictures like that can't be denied. It's obvious, they love each other. It's written all over their faces."' _She heard the words clearly now in her head, as clear as they had been when Rico had actually said them.

Was there love showing in their faces? Lilly asked herself. 'Of course, but best friends do love each other, otherwise they wouldn't be friends.' She answered herself silently.

That's all it was, Lilly reassured herself. People were just seeing their friendship for each other and blowing it up into something it wasn't. Lilly felt relieved. She could now throw the paper away and never have to think about it again. She wouldn't even have to mention this to Miley. After all, why should she get her all upset too when there was clearly nothing to it?

Relaxing now into the cushiony soft feel of the Stewart's sofa, Lilly felt her sense of humor starting to come back to her. A grin started to work across her face as she looked at the article in a new light. 'You know…this whole thing really is quite ridiculous.' She thought to herself, her grin working ever wider on her face. "I mean…come on…really? The beautiful Hannah Montana and Lola Luftnagle…a couple?" A chuckle forced its way unexpectedly out of her mouth.

'And would that really be so bad?' The thought that had tiptoed quietly across her mind leaving her wondering just where it had come from, had her sitting up and gasping as a jolt of electricity raced through her body.

'Wha-?' She had time to think, before that totally unexpected and until now hidden part of what she could only assume was herself continued.

'I mean look at her…really look.' Unwillingly, Lilly's eyes tracked back to that now familiar picture of Hannah staring down into Lola's eyes. 'She's so beautiful…She's a Goddess…what person in their right mind wouldn't want to date Hannah Montana?'

"I…I can't be thinking like this." She whispered, swallowing thickly, her mouth suddenly dry. "This is wrong…"

She trailed off as that part of her subconscious that she hadn't even known existed until this very moment whispered to her again. 'What's so wrong about it? Just imagine what it would be like if the story was true. Imagine what it would be like if Hannah Montana and Lola Luftnagle really was a couple.'

Almost against her will, her eyes slipped shut. Almost immediately, an image of Hannah appeared in her mind's eye. She was smiling warmly at her, just like she had that night of the movie premier, when Lola had rested her head on Hannah's shoulder. Her eyes sparkled like bright blue Sapphire's and Lilly felt her heart rate increase instantly. In her mind, Hannah didn't say a word, just edged closer, still staring at her with those intense, passion-filled eyes, the smile never leaving those soft pink lips. She was caught in that stare like a fly trapped in a spider's web. She tried to fight the sensations that were rising up inside of her, scared of what they might mean, but the vision in her head had taken total control. She imagined Hannah brushing the sweetest of butterfly kisses across her lips, imagined how soft and supple they would be as they teased her with their brief taste of perfection. She imagined a soft, gentle hand sweeping a tuft of unruly hair behind her ear, and then slowly sliding across and down to rest on her cheek and chin, holding her in place as their lips met more firmly.

A strong, searing heat of arousal flashed through her body, jolting her back into awareness. "Oh my god!" Lilly exclaimed, shocked by the vividness of her imaginings. Looking down at the magazine in her hands, the one that had caused her to go places in her mind that she never thought she would go, Lilly abruptly tossed it back onto the coffee table, using more force than was strictly necessary as this time the magazine succeeded in sailing across the hard wooden surface, and over the edge to land on the carpet, but she didn't really notice where it had ended up, too busy being shocked by what she had just done.

"Oh my god," She groaned out again, curling inward as she buried her head in her hands, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling resting in her center. "I'm losing it." She moaned.


	5. Wheels on the bus

Hey guys, hope this is faster than normal, well, at least I didn't wait three months this time, and I know this chapter is a little on the short side, but the next chapter will more than make up for it, it's going to be a long one. Lot of stuff happening in the next chapter, what with the concert in New York and all, so hopefully it will be worth the wait.

I'll be jumping around in time with the songs I choose, hope nobody will mind too much. In this chapter I've used Every part of me, and Miley's "Stay" both of which seemed to work perfectly for this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter Four: Wheels on the bus

The night was mostly quiet as the pink and black bus traveled up the highway. Few cars were out this early in the morning, but those rare drivers that were gave more than a passing glance at the brightly decorated bus as it passed by them. A few scanned the darkened windows, hoping for a passing glance at the Pop star whose name was emblazoned on the bus in bright pink letters, but the star herself was nowhere in sight. One particular spectator, in his eagerness to catch a glimpse, forgot the etiquette of the road and came too close, earning a chastising honk of the horn from the bus driver, before he veered back into his own lane.

Oblivious to it all, the pop star in question was asleep on her bed in the back of the bus. It was far from a restful sleep, however, the occasional light from the street lights passing outside the window reflected down on a face that was troubled, even in her dreams. Her mouth working in a frown, her eyebrows furrowing on her forehead, and the rapid eye movements under her eyelids were all testament to the fact that her dreams were far from friendly. Moaning under her breath, her fingers twitching, almost in a grasping motion, Miley called out in her sleep, the sound itself waking her up from her slumber.

Heaving up into a sitting position, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, her eyes darting around disoriented for a moment in the darkened interior of the bus, it took her a few moments to realize where she was, still caught up in the disturbing images of her dream. "God." She whispered to herself, holding a hand to her chest, feeling nauseous as she waited for the pounding in her chest to settle down. Her body shaking in reaction, she sank back down onto the mattress, breathing slowly in and out of her nose as she willed herself into a calmer state.

Reluctantly, she tried to push herself into remembering what her dream had been about, but already the details were fading. All that was left was the disturbing feeling of being lost in a crowd, searching over and over again for Lilly, who was nowhere to be found. The only feelings that remained from her dream were her mounting desperation and the driving need that she had to find Lilly.

As her heartbeat calmed, she realized she still felt nauseous and shaky. The feel of her nightshirt clinging to her back with her cooling sweat wasn't helping she decided, so she reluctantly crawled out of bed, fumbled for a change of sweats in the dark, and then headed for her bathroom on the bus to change. She blinked against the harsh halogen lights that automatically came on when she closed the bathroom door, then winced as she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror.

Going in for a closer look, she couldn't help shuddering at her zombie-like reflection. The last six weeks of non-sleep was starting to catch up to her, Miley couldn't help but notice as she studied the dark circles that stood out quite plainly against her too pale skin. Right now she more resembled the Bride of Frankenstein than a singing pop sensation. "We have some serious work to do my friend." She told her reflection, as she thought about all of the make-up she was going to have to apply to look even half way decent tomorrow. Sighing, she stuck her tongue out at her reflection, shoulders sinking dejectedly. "Later." She muttered, tiredly, before changing out of her nightshirt into her sweats.

Leaving her bathroom without a backwards glance back, she walked over to where she had left her phone on the nightstand the night before. Even though she knew what it would say, she still felt the compelling need to check anyway. Maybe this time would be different, she consoled herself. Maybe this time there would be… "No new messages." Miley muttered out loud as she read the screen. Over the last week she had left several text messages for Lilly, none of which had been returned. She realized that Lilly would be busy with training and getting ready for Nationals, but she didn't think she'd forget about her entirely, now she wasn't so sure, but as soon as she started to feel bad that Lilly hadn't texted her or called her back, she also started to worry that maybe something bad had happened to her. The only thing that saved her sanity in those moments was the thought that if something had happened to Lilly that Oliver would be the first person to call and let her know. That assuaged the worry, but it didn't help the nagging thoughts of wondering why Lilly wasn't talking to her. Was she just too busy, or was there something else going on?

Despondent, Miley put her cell phone back down onto her nightstand, then headed out into what could be considered the common room on the bus, which held a mini-kitchen (it had everything you could think of that would fit onto a bus, from a miniature refrigerator, to a portable microwave), and a table with seats where they could eat their meals while on the road, and where Miley often sat writing and composing her music. Even her insomnia, and consequent depression hadn't stopped her creative vibes, in fact it had fueled them. She had filled half a notebook with her brooding, and while they weren't exactly 'Hannah' material, the songs seemed to sum up what she was feeling in this moment of time.

Picking up her guitar, she sank down onto the seat at the table and started thrumming idly, unconsciously tuning the guitar as she stared gloomily out into the dark night sky. She stopped as the faint sound of her father moving around in his room caught her ears and she felt a shot of guilt run through her as she hoped that she hadn't woke him up, but couldn't help but be glad at the sight of his shaggy head as he stepped out, glancing at her curiously.

"Sorry if I woke you." She called out to him quietly. Waving at her in a 'don't worry about it' gesture, he spoke back to her just as quietly. "Don't stop on my account. It sounds good." She watched for a moment as he stepped over to the mini-kitchen and started tinkering around in the cupboards, then turned her attention back to her guitar as a melody she was working on started running through her head.

Playing it out softly on her guitar she started singing, "I feel like I'm a million miles away from myself more and more these days." Her eyes were drawn back to the big dark world passing by outside her window. "I've been down so many open roads, but they never lead me home, and now I just don't know. Who I really am, how's it going to be, is there something that I can't see? I want to understand." Her voice trailed off, not just because the song was unfinished and she didn't know what the next part was going to be yet, but because those words hit a chord deep inside of her.

There was something going on with her, the insomnia alone told her that much, but just what it was, what was keeping her up at night and making her miserable remained a mystery. Sure she knew what part of it was. She knew that she was missing Lilly with a desperation that just wasn't funny anymore, but was that it? Was that all that was driving her misery, or was there something else there? Something that she could almost put her finger on, but was elusive just the same. At times, she almost caught glimpses of it, but the truth remained foggy all the same.

The warm smell of chocolate invaded her senses, breaking her out of her reverie to look up at her father, who was standing beside her, two cups of hot chocolate in his hands. She smiled as he set one down in front of her, before taking his seat at the table with her. "You looked like you could use a cup of my famous 'Loco hot cocoa'" Robby Ray explained, as he took a sip from his own mug.

Smiling wanly at him, Miley picked up her own cup with her free hand, sipped on the hot liquid delicately, then set it back on the table in front of her. "Thanks Dad."

"Can't sleep?" Robby Ray asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question as Miley felt his eyes studying her. Tempted to hide her face, knowing how bad she looked, Miley was grateful for the dim lighting inside the bus that prevented her dad from getting a good look. Resting her head on the arm that was propped up on her guitar, Miley shook her head.

"Nervous about the big concert, tomorrow?" Robby Ray asked, though Miley could tell that he himself doubted that was the reason for her sleeplessness.

"It's just a concert, dad." Miley replied ignoring for the moment that it was the concert that Lilly had promised to be at, that was if she had lost the championship…which she hadn't so it was a moot point.

"Yeah, but it's…televised." Robby Ray said, staring intently at her. Miley just shook her head, not bothering to lift her head from the arm it was resting on. "So, it's not the concert that's keeping you up. Huh." Robby Ray trailed off, apparently lost in thought. Miley took another sip of her cocoa, wondering what else he would come up with.

"You know Jackson's flying in tomorrow to see it." Robby Ray commented, off handedly. Miley nodded, not saying anything. It would be nice to see Jackson tomorrow, as much as she hated to admit it, she did love her older brother, and it would be nice to have him there for the show.

They both sat in relative silence there for a while, listening to the hum of the bus's engine as it carried them along the highway while taking sips from their mugs. Finally, Robby Ray's eyes lifted to stare into Miley's once more.

"You know, if there's something bothering you Miles, you know that you can talk to me about it, right?" Robby Ray asked gently, not missing the pain that was in his daughter's eyes. He could almost see the internal debate behind her blue eyes, knowing that she was struggling with the decision to confide in him.

Miley knew that her dad could help her find the answers she was looking for, but she wasn't sure how to ask him what she wanted to ask him. She knew to do that would bring up old, potentially painful memories for him, but at the same time, she couldn't find another way to relay how she was feeling. "Daddy…" She started haltingly, staring intently at the guitar on her lap; she knew that she couldn't look him in the eyes and ask him this. "…what was it like…when me and Jackson were little and you had to leave Mama and us to go on tour? Knowing that you'd have to be gone for a while…" Miley trailed off, finally raising her head, only to see the remembered pain in her Daddy's eyes. She immediately wanted to take the question back.

Robby Ray felt the pain of the distant past, but as he stared into his daughter's eyes he could see the regret in them and knew that she wouldn't have asked if she didn't have a really good reason, so he decided to be open with her. "Well, Mile, leaving your mom and you kids behind to go on tour knowing that I'd be gone for months at a time was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life." He answered honestly. "And I'll tell ya, I didn't do very well at it either."

Miley stared back at him curiously, but kept quiet, wanting to know how he'd felt. "Half the time my stomach would be so sore that I couldn't eat. I barely slept, heck, if I got three hours it would be a good night." Miley felt a jolt as that information sank in. "I felt like half of me was missing. The best half. And it just got worse and worse until finally I decided I couldn't do it anymore." Robby Ray stopped talking, bemused by the expression in Miley's eyes. He had expected to see sympathy in his daughter's eyes, but what he hadn't expected to see was honest to god empathy, like she was actually feeling right now what he had felt all those years ago. The sight of it shocked him. "What's going on in that head of yours, Miles?"

Closing her eyes, Miley ran a frazzled hand through her hair, before she rested her head back against the seat, asking herself the same question. How could she be having the same symptoms as her dad? She knew that she and her father were a lot alike, she had followed in his footsteps after all, but could she really be feeling for Lilly the same way her dad had felt for her mom? "I wish I knew." She whispered, hoarsely, unable to admit it to herself that she was.

Robby Ray stared at his daughter, feeling helpless. He wanted to help her with what she was going through, but he wasn't quite sure how to, not unless she opened up and talked to him, and it didn't look like she was ready to. "Miles?" he prodded, hoping she'd open up her eyes and talk to him.

Miley spent a few more moments centering herself, and then opened up her eyes to look at him. "I'm okay, dad. I didn't mean to worry you. I think I'm just tired."

Robby Ray knew that there had to be more to it than that, but he knew he couldn't force her to talk if she wasn't ready to; his daughter could be stubborn that way. "You're sure?" He prodded her gently, just to make sure. Miley nodded, not meeting his eyes. "Well, when you're ready to talk…you know where I'll be."

"Thanks, Dad." Miley whispered.

Robby Ray smiled gently, and then stood, taking the empty mugs with him. "Get some rest, baby girl, you've got a busy day tomorrow." He said, kissing her on the forehead.

"I will, Daddy," Miley lied, surprising herself with how easy the lie slipped off her tongue, it didn't use to be that easy to lie to her Dad. Miley watched as he rinsed the cups out in the sink before putting them back in the cupboard, then retreated back into his room.

With her head still resting against the seat, Miley's attention returned to the night sky displayed through the bus's window, her thoughts returning to Lilly once more. As she did, the words to a potential song circled like butterflies through her mind. Opening up her notebook, she wrote them down, whispering the words out into the night as she did so. "I'm lost here in this moment and time keeps slipping by, and if I could have just one wish I'd have you by my side. Oh, I miss you. Oh, I need you. And I love you more than I did before, and here today I don't see your face. Nothing's changed no one could take your place. It gets harder every day."

Staring at the words on the page, Miley couldn't help but think just how right they were. _'Oh my god…I'm in love with my best friend.'_ Stunned by the realization, all Miley could do was cry.


End file.
